


For the Man Who Has Everything

by Lexalicious70



Category: Smallville
Genre: Birthday Presents, Jealousy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:25:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10085645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexalicious70/pseuds/Lexalicious70
Summary: It’s Lex’s birthday, and Clark plots to offer Lex something special. But first, he’ll need some help from an old friend.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my friend Kat, for her birthday. Kat, I hope your special day is as wonderful as you are! I do not own Smallville or its characters: this is just for fun.

**For the Man Who Has Everything**

By Neptune_Rising70 (aka Lexalicious70)

 

“Lex, what do you want for your birthday?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I asked you what you wanted for your birthday.” Clark watched from across the table tucked into their breakfast nook, his tie hanging loose around the collar of his white shirt. Outside, 75 floors down, uptown traffic roared and honked and filled the streets as the morning rush began. Clark’s books and Lex’s briefcase both sat companionably on the shelf by the front door, each ready for a day at the university, where Clark attended classes as a second-year journalism student and Lex worked as a professor of business technology.

 

“Oh . . .” Lex folded the newspaper with a flick of his wrist. While the news was available in many other medias, the paper form came to their door every morning and Lex poured over each section before breakfast ended. He claimed that it brought order to his day, and because Clark understood his lover’s need for ritual, he always renewed the subscription when the reminder came in the mail.

 

“Oh?”

 

“To be truthful, Clark, I want for very little these days. My job keeps me satisfied, I’ve left the path my father set for me far behind . . . and you’re here with me. That’s all I could ever want.”

 

“But there must be something!”

 

Lex glanced at his watch.

 

“If there is, then I’ll have to tell you later because we’ll both be late if we don’t leave now.” Lex rose from the table and paused long enough to tie Clark’s tie for him. “Six years later and I’m still tying your ties for you, Clark Kent.” Lex grinned as Clark raised his chin and tried not to fidget.

 

“I know how, I’m just still getting used to wearing one for my internship.”

 

“Well you won’t impress Perry White by walking in with your tie crooked—there!” Lex tied the knot and straightened it with a single decisive jerk of his hand before wrapping his fingers around the upper section and tugging Clark into a kiss. Clark returned it, laughing at the same time, and Lex released him after a moment.

 

“I thought we were going to be late!”

 

“If I indulge in what I’m thinking, we will be!” Lex picked up his briefcase. “Come on, I’ll drop you off at the Planet on my way in.”

 

 

“Late again, Smallville?”

 

The brash voice cut across the bullpen of The Daily Planet and Clark groaned inwardly as he headed to the desk he shared with the other Met U interns. Lois Lane watched him sit down from an adjacent desk, her grin almost triumphant. Clark glanced at his watch.

 

“I’m not late, and will you keep it down?”

 

“Relax. The chief’s been holed up in his office all morning, some meeting with a group of diplomatic journalists . . . or journalistic diplomats. I forget which.”

 

“You have such a sharp mind for details.” Clark smiled as he tucked his books away on a rolling cart nearby. “Remind me again why Mr. White hasn’t let you contribute to a published piece yet?”

 

“Because bite me!” Lois tossed her pen down, looking disgusted. “So, were you and Lex-a-licious getting down, and that’s why you’re late?”

 

“No! I mean—mind your own business! And don’t call him Lex-a-licious!”

 

“Okay. So were you and _Professor Luthor_ getting down?”

 

“Lois . . .” Clark rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers and focused on not pushing her and the desk out the 12th story window behind her.

 

“But seriously, Smallville, you’re looking more preoccupied than usual. So what’s up?”

 

Clark glanced toward Perry’s door but it stayed closed. Shadows moved around behind the frosted glass panel on its upper half. He turned to face Lois.

 

“All right, if you have to know everything, I’m trying to figure out what to get Lex for his birthday! He says he doesn’t want anything, and he pretty much owns all the gadgets and luxuries other people want.”

 

“Oh is that all? God you’re so naïve . . . okay, listen. If you’re dating a rich guy who has all the luxuries he could ever want, then you give him something money can’t buy.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like . . . a performance.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Do I have to draw you a picture, Smallville? A performance! You know—a sexy dance, or better yet, strip for him! I bet under all those silk button-down shirts, he’s got more than a few kinks!”

 

“Oh my God, can you please keep your voice down?” Clark felt his face fill with heat. “I don’t even know how to dance!”

 

“That doesn’t surprise me. You’re the clumsiest person I’ve ever met!” Lois shrugged. “Anyway, that’s what I’d do.” She got up with a handful of mail. “I have to go drop these in the mailroom before three, but think about what I said.” The brunette strode away, leaving Clark to deal with his thoughts and his blush.

 

_I can’t believe this, but she might actually have a good idea,_ he thought. _But even with my powers, I can’t dance or move like a Chippendale! Lex deserves better. Unless . . .?_

Clark pulled out his wallet to search for a phone number, one he’d kept tucked away for almost a year, even as he contemplated how crazy this plan was and that maybe he’d be better off buying Lex a bathrobe instead.

 

 

_Five Days Later_

“You’re late again.”

 

Clark froze in the alcove near the door of the apartment he and Lex shared as he felt his shoulders hunch with guilt. The dining room table was clean, which meant either Lex had eaten alone or, more likely, hadn’t eaten at all. He was sitting at one end, a stack of graded papers at his left hand. Clark set his things down.

 

“I know. I meant to call, but they have me juggling a lot of different jobs at the Planet and then I have study groups to meet with. I’ve just lost track of time lately, Lex, I’m sorry.” He went to his partner, who gave him an appraising look.

 

“Clark, do you remember when we decided to move here together after you graduated high school?”

 

“Yeah Lex, of course.” Clark smiled. The night stood out in his memory—he’d chosen that evening to tell Lex the truth about himself, physically and emotionally, and it had been the thing that had finally turned Lex away from the self-destructive path he’d set for himself, with his father holding the compass.

 

“Then you’ll also remember that we agreed secrets kept are the agents of destruction—they destroy trust, in particular.”

 

“Lex—”

 

“Do you remember?”

 

“Yes, but—”

 

“Then tell me where you’ve really been going every day after classes because I stayed late at the university twice this week to attend meetings and when I went to the library afterward to offer you a ride home, none of your friends seemed to know where you were, either.”

 

“I don’t always study at the library. Sometimes our group meets at that coffee house next to the campus.” Annoyed at Lex’s perceptiveness, Clark took refuge in defensiveness. “Why are you being so suspicious? Trust works both ways!”

 

“Perhaps it’s because you come home looking far more rumpled than one would get simply sitting at a table and studying with friends.” Lex’s lapis eyes flicked over Clark’s rumpled work shirt, the tail pulled from his slacks. Clark folded his arms over his chest.

 

“So what are you accusing me of, exactly?”

 

“Nothing, Clark.” Lex rose from the table. “There’s a plate for you in the fridge if you’re hungry from whatever exertions you’ve been practicing this evening. I’m going to bed.” Although he never raised his voice, Lex’s words hurt worse than Kryptonite bullets, striking him and making him wince. He sat at the table and pulled his phone from his messenger bag to call up a text conversation.

_Hey, Lex is getting really suspicious! I told you this would happen!_

The phone chimed with a reply about thirty seconds later.

 

_Ok relax, we just need to spend a few more nights together and you’ll be ready_

_But he’s already angry!_ Clark texted back.

 

_Dude trust me . . . when you give him your gift, he’ll forget all about it! Chill, ok?_

Clark sighed and his fingers flew over the keys.

 

_Two more days next week and that’s all I can do! His birthday is on Friday_

_You’ll be ready. We can’t stop now!_

Clark let the phone thump to the table as he pushed a hand through his dark hair and wished (not for the first time) that the ability to handle highly intelligent and emotionally complex former billionaires came as naturally as his other powers had.

 

 

 

_Friday Morning_

When Clark awoke on the morning of Lex’s birthday, his partner was already gone. A note on the dining room table talked about early meetings, but Clark could feel the chill in the almost formal way the note was composed.

 

_I have to let him know where I’ve been going_ , Clark thought to himself. _And I shouldn’t go today at all, even though it’s supposed to be the last time_. He glanced at the Blancpain clock on the wall. _Too late to cancel it, though, so I better get moving_.

 

Clark grabbed a bagel and a banana as he went out the door and made his way to the metro rail service that ran from Metropolis to several other nearby cities and towns, including Central City. As he went down the steps that led to the train platforms, he never noticed the slender, black-clad form on the far side of the station, a black wool beanie pulled down low to hide a hairless scalp. Lex watched his young lover pay for a ticket and then moved forward with the morning commuters to purchase his own. He boarded a south-bound train, noting that it would take them to Central City, a slightly gritty urban community that, in Lex’s opinion, held none of Metropolis’ charm or grandeur. What could his lover possibly want in such a place, and how had their relationship taken such a turn that Lex had canceled his lectures and classes to follow him like some amateur detective? Guilt poked at his psyche as he recalled his words to Clark about trust, but the logical portion of his brain, which usually loomed large in his decision-making, reasoned that if Clark was looking for a way out of the relationship, he, Lex, at least deserved to see why.

 

The train rocketed on in the darkness under Metropolis and continued south for nearly an hour before it emerged into sunlight and downtown Central City. Lex trailed Clark off the train and then for about two blocks, and Lex frowned at the run-down apartment building that Clark was apparently heading for. It was a one-story affair with a detached management office, and a faded sign read _Elm Grove Apartments_. Lex watched as Clark knocked on the door in roughly the middle of the T-shaped collection of units, his suspicions growing as a young man answered and ushered Clark inside. The door closed firmly behind them and Lex stood in the shadow of a storefront awning across the street, fury battling with the knowledge that for whatever reason, Clark was moving on without him and that whatever was inside that apartment, he wanted it more than the life they’d built together.

 

Lex turned away without a second glance and headed back toward the subway and to Metropolis, where he would wait for Clark to come home.

 

 

_Metropolis, five hours later_

“Are you sure he’s not here?”

 

“He doesn’t get home until six. Don’t worry, we won’t get interrupted.” Clark closed the apartment door, a cluster of brightly-colored balloons in one hand, a plastic shopping bag in the other. “Come on, let’s go to the bedroom.” He left the balloons tied to Lex’s chair at the table and headed down the hall.

 

“I do think we should hurry though, Lex is getting suspi . . .” Clark’s words died on his lips, death by shock, as he opened the bedroom door to find Lex sitting on the bed. Two of his blue Armani suitcases, packed and latched, waited by the closet door. Clark groped for new words, words that would explain, and Lex’s lips twisted into a sardonic smile.

 

“Well. It seems that the urban splendor of the Elm Grove Apartments has lost its charm for you two.”

 

“The Elm . . .” Clark repeatedly numbly, and Lex got to his feet.

 

“Yes. I followed you, Clark, and now I finally see what’s caught your attention!” He turned his attention to the slender kid who stood behind Clark. He was obviously several years younger than Clark, with unruly sherry-colored curly hair and expressive cobalt blue eyes framed with long, dark blond lashes. He was dressed in faded jeans, a worn red tee, and a stressed red hoodie. He blinked at Lex as he strode forward.

 

“Lex, hey, you’ve—”

 

“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, and since you’re clearly the very epitome of Central City street trash, I’m going to have to insist that you not address me as if you know me.” Lex’s tone spat such venom that the kid backed up a few steps. Clark shook his head.

 

“Lex, stop it! Whatever you’re thinking—”

 

“I saw you two this morning, and I heard you just now, talking about how you don’t have much time because I was getting suspicious! On that you were correct, Clark, and that’s why I followed you. So please, don’t waste any more time telling me how wrong I am!”

 

“Except that you are.” The kid, having apparently regained his courage, advanced on Lex, frowning. “I guess you don’t remember me because we only met briefly when I was in Smallville two years ago, so I’m gonna refresh your memory, okay? My name is Bart Allen. I live in Central City, where I do my best to fight crime during the day and work at a male strip joint at night because wiping out crime with my super-speeding powers doesn’t really pay the bills.”

 

Lex frowned as he scrambled to catch up with this new information. His eidetic memory offered up a face from the past to match the name, but the memory of a stick-thin kid with upswept blond hair didn’t gel with the one standing in front of him; the passage of time had changed him into something more mature, more confident. And—

 

“You’re meta?” Lex asked, and Bart nodded.

 

“I don’t have all kinds of different powers like Stretch here,” Bart nodded to Clark, “but I am the fastest man alive—and the self-appointed guardian of Central City.”

 

“Impulse.” Lex said, recalling the name the papers had given their speedster, and Bart nodded.

 

“Yeah, that’s me. And maybe I am Central City trash whose ability to move the way I do also makes me one hell of an erotic dancer, but I need to tell you that you’re making the biggest mistake of your life here. Clark didn’t come to me today and for the last five nights because we’re having an affair. He came to me because he wanted me to teach him how to dance . . . dance like I do, for your birthday!”

 

Lex stared at Bart as several dozen emotions created a pileup in his brain that threatened to overload it. He grabbed onto the only fact he could process at the moment and turned his attention to Clark, who looked almost as miserable as he had on the morning of Jonathan Kent’s funeral.

 

“Clark? Is that true?” He asked, and Clark picked up the plastic shopping bag he’d dropped earlier to pull out a variety of leather clothing: black pants, a black vest, a matching fishnet tee, and a leather biker’s hat.

“I wanted to surprise you. You—you didn’t know what you wanted for your birthday because you said you already had everything, and then Lois . . . I don’t know why I listened to her, but she said a performance was something money couldn’t buy. I went to Bart because I thought he could teach me some moves. I wanted to do this for you but I wanted to do it right. So I didn’t look like an idiot. He came here with me to give me my last lesson so I’d be ready by the time you got back.”

 

“Oh, Clark.” Lex closed his eyes for a moment and wished for the bedroom floor to come to life and swallow him up. It’d be an easy task, seeing as how he now felt about an inch tall. “I thought—I never considered that you might try and surprise me.”

 

“I know.” Clark nodded. “And I can see how it must have looked when you saw us together.” He frowned a little. “But I can’t believe you followed me! After all those lectures about trust?”

 

“I deserve that, and more.” Lex nodded. “Clark, I’m so sorry.” He took a step toward his lover and his heart lifted slightly when he didn’t back away. “I’m a suspicious idiot.”

 

“You are.” Clark nodded, but something in his eyes changed and Lex blessed his partner’s seemingly endless capacity to forgive. “And I should walk out of here right now.”

 

“But?” Lex asked, and Clark gave him a long, measured look before he started to chuckle.

 

“But I love you, Alexander Luthor. And it’s your birthday, and if you want to use up your wish on me forgiving you for this whole stupid thing—”

 

“Absolutely so!”

 

“Then I don’t have any choice but to allow that.” Clark smiled and glanced over at Bart, who smiled back with a shrug of his lean shoulders. Lex sighed.

 

“Bart, I owe you an apology. My anger was misplaced and unnecessary. I’m sorry for what I said.” He offered Bart his hand and after a moment the speedster took it. They shook.

 

“Hey man . . . trashy is as trashy does, right? But maybe someday saving lives will pay the bills better than dancing does.” He smiled. “I’m not ashamed of what I do, Lex. And I hope what I taught Clark gives you a very happy birthday.” He clapped Clark on the shoulder. “Gotta bounce, Stretch. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

 

“I won’t, Bart. Thanks for every—”

 

The kid was gone in a blur before Clark could finish his sentence, giving him and Lex their privacy. Lex sat down on the bed.

 

“I believe I told you once in the past that Luthors don’t trust easily, if at all. It seems that still holds true.”

 

“I guess I can see how it might have looked.” Clark admitted. “Maybe I shouldn’t have tried to surprise you?”

 

“Oh believe me Clark, I’m more than surprised.” Lex glanced away. “As well as terribly embarrassed.”

 

“My dad used to say you’re never too old to learn humility.” Clark responded as he sat down next to Lex, and his partner smiled.

 

“That does sound like something he would say, certainly. And I am sorry, Clark. For not trusting you, and for ruining your surprise.”

 

“Well . . .” Clark glanced at his watch. “It’s still your birthday for a few more hours.” He picked up the shopping bag full of leather clothes. “And I’d hate to waste all those lessons Bart gave me.”

 

“You mean, you’re still willing to give me my gift?”

 

“There’s no way we went through all this for nothing.” Clark got up with the bag and headed for the walk-in closet. “Wait right here.”

 

Lex waited, and as he did, his mind formulated an absolution regarding Bart Allen: on Monday morning, he’d see about creating a courier job at the university that would allow the kid enough time for crime fighting and allow him to improve his lifestyle. He owed the boy, and Lex always made sure he paid his dues.

 

A noise interrupted Lex’s thoughts and he looked up to see a rather awkward hand curl around the door frame and set a phone into the nearby docking speaker. Lex grinned as Clark’s large hand fumbled around for the play button and George Michael’s “I Want Your Sex” began to play. Clark stepped out of the closet with the leather clothing on, his abs gyrating, and all of Lex’s blood went south so quickly that the resulting erection was almost painful.

 

“Oh, Christ.” He groaned, and Clark continued to approach him in a playful dance that accentuated his height and his long legs. While the moves weren’t perfect, the way Clark kept his face turned away except for the occasional flash of his seafoam eyes, had Lex melting where he sat. The hat went first, with a touch of leather against Lex’s cheek before it was tossed aside, then the vest, and then the fishnet tee, but slowly, with a slow reveal of Clark’s upper chest and nipples before he ripped it neatly down the middle and let it slide off his muscular body.

 

_“I want your sex . . . I want your love . . .”_

Lex’s mouth hung open and felt drier than the Mojave desert as his eyes tracked the slide and then Clark was naked from the waist up, his hips thrusting as he wriggled closer and began to undo the buttons on the leather pants. His fingers paused to brush along Lex’s thighs and then he was working the pants down. It became instantly apparent that nothing but bare skin lay underneath and Lex made a strangled (and decidedly undignified) noise in his throat as Clark kicked off the pants a few moments later and put his hands behind his head as his erection thrusted forward and back, forward and back.

 

_“It's natural_

_It's chemical (let's do it)_

_It's logical_

_Habitual (can we do it?)_

_It's sensual . . .”_

“Clark!” It was gasp, caught on the edge of desire that burned so fiercely that it threatened to consume Lex, body and soul. He grabbed Clark by the hips and pulled him forward. He felt Clark check his strength and shift his weight, and then his own clothes were being peeled off and tossed aside. The song ended, leaving only the blended moans of the two men to fill the resulting silence.

 

Later, long after sunset, Clark’s voice spoke out of the darkness as he and Lex lay in bed.

 

“I do forgive you, Lex. I don’t want you to worry.”

 

“I won’t. And I promise, I’ll work on my issues.”

 

A pause.

 

“Did you really like my dancing?” Clark asked, the darkness making him brave, and Lex turned over until they were laying face to face.

 

“Clark, I’ve never been given a finer gift.” He said, and was rewarded by the brief sight of Clark’s teeth flashing in the darkness. His lover’s strong arms folded around him a moment later and their scents, mingled with the scent of the linen sheets, created a perfume that surrounded Lex as he rested his head on Clark’s chest, closed his eyes, and listened to the sound of his heart—the sound that spun Lex’s world on its axis.

 

_I truly am a man who has everything_.

 

**_FIN_ **

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
